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Becs (244 KP) rated Marrow Charm in Books

Dec 20, 2019

Marrow Charm

Kristin Jacques | 2019 | Dystopia, Paranormal, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)

10.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Dark and magical!!

Trigger Warnings: cannibalism, death, murder, gore, slavery, injury, abduction, absent parent(s), death of a parent(s), manipulation, violence

I was honestly surprised that I ended up loving this novel as much as I did. I had extremely high expectations for it and IT. DELIVERED. When I first picked it up, it took a good minute to actually get into the story. But once it clicked into place, I was devouring Marrow Charm with a thirst. It is heart-wrenching, action packed, enemies to lovers (kinda, a girl can dream), dark and oh so magical!

Marrow Charm follows a morally gray heroine, Azzy Brimvine in a world destroyed by magic. The magic plaguing the lands caused humans to retreat underground. But every so often, magical borne plagues will wipe out masses of human cities. These plagues create aberrations by striking those with magic. When Azzy’s brother is infected, she sets out with her mentor to the Above determined to save him. But, the world in the Above is not all gum drops and unicorns. It is plagued with monsters and humans, wild and cunning. Azzy must brave the perils that litter the Above to reach her brother before the Gate is opened.

Marrow Charm is a bit slow in the begin, but as you continue on it does pick up quite quickly. Once you hit that sweet spot though, your attention is gripped to the point where you don’t even want to put the book down because you are just enthralled in the complex world and characters. I would say the book starts picking up a few chapters in. This could also be a me only thing as I was slumping a bit when I started Marrow Charm, and we all know how slumps can ruin a book!

I was enthralled with not only the characters and their stories, but also the world. Kristin’s writing style is eloquent and breathtaking, and they included a couple of different themes throughout the story! Such as, family and friendship. It was really nice to see both of these take place when the main character had such a life of hardship. And don’t get me started on the complexity of the characters and world!

The characters are written in a way that draws the reader to them but they are also realistic in a way where their actions and thoughts are extremely relatable. This was really interesting to experience when reading, as I was not expecting to enjoy the characters as much as I did. The complexity of the world was also something that surprised me! There was no clear “good-side” or “bad-side” and the descriptions of everything was extremely well-done! You can tell that there is a higher, dark presence that is interwoven into the world but what it is, is unknown. Even at the ending of the novel. This was kind of a bummer, as I wanted to know what that presence was. But it also set it up nicely for book two: Skin Curse.

I can’t gush about Marrow Charm enough! It’s seriously one of my top books of the year and I can’t stop recommending it to everyone. If you are a fan of dark tales with fantasy and magical elements but also a hint of realism, then this is the book for you! But be warned, it does read ‘heavy.’ In the end though, the ‘heavy’ presence makes sense.

You can also find this review on my blog: bookingwayreads.wordpress.com

Kudos

Sam (74 KP) rated Caraval in Books

Mar 27, 2019

Caraval

Stephanie Garber | 2017 | Young Adult (YA)

8.1

(97 Ratings)

Book Rating

I must be starting to enjoy fantasy and YA because in my past few reviews I’ve put my normal “I don’t usually read…” in front of my review because they’re not my genres. But… something must have changed because I’m finally starting to like them.

Caraval is the fantasy I never knew I needed in my life. It’s fast-paced, magical and gripping, and nothing like I expected. I got my copy for Christmas in a Book Matchmaker package. I don’t think if I’d have seen this on a shelf that I would have gone for it because as I’ve said, it’s not my usual type. But I was nicely surprised.

The novel opens with letters from Scarlett to Legend about Caraval as she’s always wanted to see it because of the stories her grandmother told her when she was younger. After years of trying to get an invite, Legend replies and the story begins.

Scarlett is thrown into an adventure with her sister Tella and a sailor, Julien. They all take part in Caraval – a magical game where nothing is ever as it seems – and compete against other players to win a wish from Legend.

I was a bit unsure where the book was going to go in the beginning because it took off quite slowly, but once the action started I couldn’t put it down. It was truly gripping and I was completely obsessed to the point I was reading it in whatever spare time I could find just to finish it.

It finishes with a bit of a cliffhanger but that just means that I absolutely cannot wait for the second book!

Kudos

The Bandersnatch (199 KP) rated The Magicians' Guild (Black Magician Trilogy, #1) in Books

Nov 7, 2019

The Magicians Guild is the first of the Black Magician Trilogy and was published in 2001, Followed by The Novice (2002) and The Black Magician (2003). The story starts with a young Slum Dweller named Sonea as she discovers her magical potential after throwing a stone through a magical barrier. Going in the run Sonea has to deal with both the magicians guild after her and the growing chaos that is her loosing control of her power. After being found by Lord Rothen and helped achieve control, Sonea must face a difficult trial for both entrance to the Guild and Mentorship between Rothen and the sinister looking Fergun.

Canavan stated on her website that the initial inspiration which ended up being part of the first chapter came form her watching a documentary of the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona where a report about the government taking the host cities homeless and sending them to other cities/towns. Later that night she saw herself and several others being herded out of a city...by magicians hence the first chapter.

Now when I first found the book I was in a Waterstones (Well known British bookstore) mindlessly looking....wasn't even expecting to buy a book and I came across The Magicians Guild. Finding the blurb interesting I bought it and after reading it I fell in love and I ended up rushing to buy the other two books. Hearing the influence of the first chapter reminded me of the influence Susanne Collins the writer of the Hunger games series had of flicking through channels and hearing two different news posts.